$5 - $10 - $15 more?
LOL . . . the above and the word "competent" have no business being in the same thought. Unless you mean "per hour." If you think that should be implied, guess again. I have seen RFP's exactly like this, as flat rates.
I compete against "outsourced programmers" and not all of them are from India or Pakistan. I think those names come up because the economies in those countries are very poor, and the ones in the tech industry are willing to work very hard for very little, giving them a greater exposure in the work force. It's not uncommon for super low pricing to be paid to a U.S. programmer, because many programmers respond by thinking this is their only way to "stay in the game."
But the bottom line,
exploitation is still exploitation, no matter where you're from. I see it every day, five page web sites for $100, customized CMS's for $50, writers providing 500 word articles for $10, or . . . . .004 USD per word. That is not a typo or exaggeration.
Conversely, a large part of **my** work is cleaning up after some of these providers who have responded to the resounding calls of exploitation. The bottom line, in any language, any culture, is still "you get what you pay for." And quite often, in really bad cases, you pay for what you get . . .
So . . . expect at least $10 per hour for a "competent" coder, but that ten bucks is no guarantee that they will actually be "competent." You still have to do your homework.
